Patient Testimonies | May 14, 2025
My name is Mary Simmons and I am a retired state government employee, from Henrico, Virginia. Most importantly, I am a mother, a wife, daughter of Joseph and Florence Fowler, sister, aunt, and a cancer survivor.
In 2022, I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a cancer of the blood and bone marrow and type II diabetes. I was forced to stop working full time after a trip to the emergency room gave me a surprise diagnosis and doctors had initially given me 2 weeks of quality of life after my pneumonia and surprise diagnosis. I spent months at VCU Medical Center undergoing treatment and was placed on several medications that spiked my glucose, requiring the need for diabetes medications like Tresiba and Humalog.
At the same time, I was waiting to qualify for SSDI and racked up a medical and hospital bill of nearly $325,000 dollars due to a combination of a 3-4 month hospital stay, expensive diabetes and chemo/cancer prescription drugs, and other associated healthcare fees. Though I could not afford treatment, my family and I did our best to pay about $100 monthly to pay off the debts, while I applied to small service grants wherever possible. Due to costs, I even tried switching my medication regimen from brand name prescriptions to generics which ultimately caused more problems forcing me back on the expensive medications.
Under the care of Dr. Keri R. Maher at VCU Massey Cancer Center who professionally partnered with me as one team – we became one fight to beat cancer. I then enrolled in a clinical trial which saved my life.
After my extended hospital stay, the medical upkeep and additional prescription and medical costs added up. Shortly after, I finally got SSDI and have received more financial coverage and assistance from Medicare and my dual coverage of my husband’s insurance. Yet prescription copays still remain at an all time high, costing me several hundreds of dollars a month.
Something needs to be done. Patients deserve lower prices without the stress of worrying how to pay for necessary things when their health is at a low. Big Pharma greed needs to stop!